A Conference organised by the China Media Centre at the University of Westminster

309 Regent Street, London W1 UK
April 8th and 9th 2010

The dramatic economic growth in China has meant a renewed international influence. President Obama’s recent visit, and the effective establishment of the “G2,” marked international recognition of the fact that China is, today, a central actor in the world economy. Historically, economic power has always been accompanied by increasing international cultural influence – soccer, Hollywood and karaoke are just some of the things bequeathed by other big economies to the rest of the world. It is certain that China’s economic stature will also be reflected in the diffusion of Chinese culture.

This reality is already recognised by many in China and outside. The Chinese government has a “going out” strategy, aiming to make the Chinese language, Chinese culture, and the Chinese media more visible internationally. At the same time, broadcasters who were once content to buy programmes and copy western models are today planning to enter the international market place as sellers of their own products.

The organisers invite papers on all aspects of these developments. Topics of interest include, but are not limited to:

* Theoretical discussions of the relationships between economic power and cultural power

* Official efforts to promote Chinese language and culture abroad

* China’s international news media

* The international strategies of China’s media companies

* What are the competitive advantages of Chinese culture in the international market?

* Is “authentic” Chinese culture under threat from the drive to sell products internationally?

* International reaction to the spread of Chinese culture

* The historical experience of the international influence of Chinese culture

* Future prospects for Chinese media and culture on the world stage

If you wish to present a paper at this conference, please send an abstract of not more than 250 words to Mi Miao (m dot mi at my.westminster.ac.uk) by 31st January 2010.

The organisers will make every effort to find a publication outlet for the best of the papers presented at this conference.

There is no mention here of the fact that Chinese popular culture has already enjoyed a long international presence, especially but not only throughout the widely dispersed overseas Chinese population in Southeast Asia, Hawaii, California, British Columbia, etc, e.g. Hong Kong films have traditionally sold well across much of the global South.

I’d be interested to know about the official mainland China media strategy for those markets and resource frontiers (e.g. Africa) where earlier generations are familiar with Hong Kong films.